Juan Pablo Montoya thinks George Russell’s Mercedes contract is ‘a real problem’ for his title hopes

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F1 pundit Juan Pablo Montoya claims George Russell is facing a ‘real problem’ with his F1 title aspirations at Mercedes due to his current contract with the team.

Announced during the latter stages of the 2025 season, George Russell signed a one-year deal with Mercedes that is set to expire at the end of the current campaign, with an option to extend the contract for a further year depending on performance-based clauses.

The finalisation of the deal came after months of Mercedes being linked with Max Verstappen. Team boss Toto Wolff later admitted that his public pursuit of the Red Bull ace was a ‘mistake’ after noting that it destabilised Russell’s efforts last year.

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However, with the Briton only given one more year to prove he is capable of becoming a world champion, Juan Pablo Montoya thinks the pressure may be getting in the way of Russell’s results.

Since cruising to victory at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, the 28-year-old has only claimed one podium while Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli has laid down the gauntlet and taken the win at every race.

• READ MORE: Damon Hill fears Toto Wolff hurt George Russell by ‘playing with him’ over Mercedes contract

Juan Pablo Montoya thinks George Russell’s Mercedes deal is piling ‘pressure’ on his title hopes

Speaking via the MontoyAS podcast, the former McLaren F1 driver explained why he thinks Russell is currently facing a difficult situation within Mercedes’ set up in Brackley.

“He’s got a real problem,” he told his co-host. “I don’t know if the fact that he’s only on a one-year contract is putting a lot of pressure on the situation, but it is a tricky situation.

“I still think that George could end up being faster than Kimi, but Kimi handles difficult situations and a less-than-perfect car better. If the car is good, George can beat him.

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“It’s just that I think George was never happy, personally, with the situation at Mercedes, with everything. And people start talking, and he did say it very clearly: there are tracks where they beat you, and I hate this track.

“We all have our tracks. George’s mindset is to understand why, and those are the tracks you have to work much harder on because, to become a world champion, you can’t just rely on your good tracks.

“It’s not so much about how well you do on the good ones, but how badly you do on the bad ones. And you, well, on the one hand, there was a bit of a good moment at the end of the race with Charles and all that.”

The six-time Grand Prix winner currently sits 20 points behind his less experienced teammate in the championship, but he can take some confidence from the next round of the season taking place in Montreal, one of Russell’s strongest circuits.

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Since making the switch to Mercedes machinery in 2022, the British driver has taken two pole positions that have been converted into two podiums, the latter of which was a Grand Prix victory.

Despite his impressive record in Canada, Antonelli is currently in fine form at the wheel of the W17. The Italian also scored his first F1 podium at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, so he won’t be an easy man to beat there either.